NR 602 Golden Eagle Summary

NR 602 Golden Eagle Summary

NR 602 Golden Eagle Summary

NR 602 Organization

-Background on Eagles

-Eagle habitat, population and migratory habits

-Impact of wind farms on migratory birds

-Brush Canyon Wind Power Facility

-Conclusion

 

Science:

-551 breeding pairs of golden eagles in Oregon

-Home ranges can be as large as 83 square kilometers (cumulative effects)

-Anecdotal evidence: significant long-term decline

-Insufficient monitoring has led to a lack of information

-Can reduce the availability of sites suitable for breeding, feeding or sheltering.

 

Policy Issues

-Wind power facilities on ridgelines can have a substantial impact

-Draft proposed order briefly/dismissively addresses the issue of avian mortality

-Focus on direct and cumulative effects that wind facilities can have

-Overall lack of analysis

-Fail to present adequate information about the impacts and proposed mitigation

-Issue: developing large wind systems that impact the local environment and exporting the energy i.e. to California (not a sound policy).

-Shepherds: one of the largest wind operations in the country—exports the energy to California.

-Threats (And violations of the Bald/Golden Eagle Protection Act/Prohibited Take):

-1. Mortality caused by flying into structures and wind turbines.

-2. Disturbance from pre-construction, construction, maintenance/operation

-3. Possible permanent long-term loss of nesting territory

-Government officials can be held liable for authorizing the actions undertaken by others that constitutes unauthorized taking (several precedents cited).

-Approving these plans w/o sufficient research makes state potentially exposed to liability under the BGEPA.

-Importance of avoiding category 1 habitats

 

-Problems with Survey

-Timing late-April is poor timing for the study

-#/Distribution of unoccupied/unidentified nests

-Annual variation in nest use/success (1-year study is ineffective)

-Unidentified nests

-How to fix them: surveying earlier (prior to late April), repeat surveying and recruitment of other local/regional surveying efforts to support data.

-Data also failed to consider migration populations during peak periods of passage

-Project proposed 95 miles of new road: that construction project=disturbance

-Note: Deer and bats also impacted by this development project

NR 602 Golden Eagle Summary

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